The varied manifestations of abdominal tuberculosis

Eight cases of abdominal tuberculosis from the Department of Medicine, Singapore General Hospital are reported to illustrate the varied clinical manifestations of the disease. Presentation ranged from asymptomatic hepatomegaly to acute abdomen (intestinal obstruction/perforation). Chronic non-specific symptomatology (fever, weight loss, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, jaundice) was commonest. There were three patients with hepatic tuberculosis, two with tuberculous mesenteric lymphadenitis and three with intestinal tuberculosis, two of whom had concomitant tuberculous peritonitis. Only three patients had coexisting pulmonary tuberculosis. The diagnosis was unsuspected at presentation in four patients. Initial provisional diagnoses included typhoid, abdominal lymphoma, hepatic malignancy, chronic hepatitis and iatrogenic gut perforation. All patients responded totally to conventional antituberculous therapy.